South Acton Congregational Church to officially welcome new pastor

Matt Mallio @actonbeacon

Wednesday

Sep 5, 2018 at 12:17 PMSep 5, 2018 at 12:17 PM

After six months of serving as pastor for the South Acton Congregational Church, Rev. Amy Lunde-Whitler will be officially installed Sunday, Sept., 23 at 3 p.m. at the South Acton Congregational Church on 35 School St.

Lunde-Whitler, who became pastor in mid-February, said she has come to know and enjoy the Acton and its surrounding area, said she has seen how, time and again, the community has been very supportive and has come together.

Specifically, she discussed the ongoing Habitat for Humanity build on School Street, and how her congregation, members of the business community, and other volunteers and faith groups have stepped up to build the homes for the two families who will be dwelling there.

"It just makes you feel like you're in the right place," Lunde-Whitler said.

Perfect fit

Lunde-Whitler said she was raised in Texas and said she started feeling a pull towards the religious life around middle school. After getting her undergraduate degree in Texas, she studied at the Western Theological Seminary, in Holland, Michigan.

Lunde-Whitler was previously at a church in West Groton when she applied for the position in Acton. Her profile was viewed by the congregation, and she was interviewed for the position. In Congregational churches, she said, the congregation interviews and chooses their pastor, unlike some branches of Christianity, were the pastor is assigned. When asked how things were going since she started in February, Lunde-Whitler said there was a great deal of mutual satisfaction.

"I think she's a perfect fit," said Acton resident Bill Klauer, one of the older members of the congregation. Klauer said the church's congregation had changed over the year. Klauer said that fewer church members work in the town. And, he said, there was a wide age-range with four members who were into their 90s as well as several young families.

"It's not a homogeneous group," said Lunde-Whitler.

What does bind the congregation together, Lunde-Whitler said, is a strong belief in putting faith into action.

Rally Sunday and other events

Lunde-Whitler said one of her biggest jobs as a pastor was to listen to her congregation. She said she has heard fears and concerns of school pressure, gun violence, and racial injustice. To that end, she is working with other faith groups in the area to help deal with these issues. For example, she said, they are working with St. Matthew's United Methodist Church as well as Congregation Beth Elohim to have an interfaith pot luck dinner. Monthly, Lunde-Whitler has had gun violence prevention protests.

Lunde-Whitler is a big believer in working with other faith groups, saying that the more people can get together as faith communities and talk, the stronger the community.

"The stronger the community is," Lunde-Whitler said, "the stronger we all are."

Rally Sunday, which will happen on Sunday, Sept. 9, at 10:30 a.m. at the SACC, is another major event. It's a yearly event she likens a fall kickoff, where the congregation "just celebrates the coming of fall and all that we’re working on together" and make happen through their actions.

"There’s so much life in the Acton area," Lunde-Whitler said. "It’s wonderful."